Person

Hale, Horatio Emmons (1817 - 1896)

Born
3 May 1817
Newport, New Hampshire, U.S.A.
Died
28 December 1896
Clinton, Ontario, Canada
Occupation
Ethnologist and Philologist

Summary

Horatio Hale was an ethnologist and philologist noted for his study of languages, particularly as a key to classifying ancient peoples. In 1838 he was appointed philologist to the United Stated Exploring Expedition under the command of Charles Wilkes. The Expedition was to conduct a scientific and hydrologic survey of the Pacific islands, Antarctica and the northwest coast of America. Between November 1839 and March 1840, Hale, James Dana and other members of the Expedition stayed in New South Wales. During this period Hale visited several missions including that of Rev. Lancelot Threlkeld at Lake Macquarie. Hales' book Ethnography and philology (1846) included a section on the language, character and customs on Australian Aboriginals. In particular he wrote on the phonology and etymology of Aboriginal language, in which he made use of the records of Threlkeld and other observers he met. After returning to the U.S. Hale ultimately settled in Clinton, Canada.

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Details

Chronology

29 November 1839
Career event - Arrived in Sydney with the United States Exploring Expedition
19 March 1840
Career event - Departed from Sydney with the United States Exploring Expedition
1856
Life event - Settled in Canada
1872
Award - Elected member, American Philosophical Society
1893
Career position - President, American Folklore Society

Colleague

Published resources

Books

  • Hale, Horatio, United States Exploring Expedition during the years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842 under the command of Charles Wilkes, U.S.N.: ethnography and philology (Philadelphia: C. Sherman, 1846), 666 pp. Details

Journal Articles

  • Brinton, D.G., 'Horatio Hale', American anthropologist, 10 (1) (1897), 25-7. Details
  • Chamberlain, Alex, 'In memoriam: Horatio Hale', Journal of American folklore, 10 (36) (1897), 60-6. Details

See also

Helen Cohn

Created: 13 January 2026

EOAS ID: biogs/P007938b.htm

This Edition: 2026 February - 1926 Centenaries
Kooyang - Gariwerd calendar - Late summer: late January to late March - season of eels
Reference: https://www.bom.gov.au/resources/indigenous-weather-knowledge/indigenous-seasonal-calendars/gariwerd-calendar#bom-anchor-list__item-kooyang-season-of-eels

Publisher: Swinburne University of Technology.

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"... the rengitj, as a visible mark or imprint on the land, is characterised as a place of origin, the repository of all names, as well as a kind of mapped visual expression of the connection between people and places which is to be carried out in the temporal sequence of the journey." Fanca Tamisari (1998) 'Body, Vision and Movement: In the footprints of the ancestors'. Oceania 68(4) p260